News

An increasing number of cyclists are falling victim to theft because the flimsy cables they use to secure their bikes can be cut in seconds. Good quality, Sold Secure-rated D-locks are commonly sold with a cable accessory – a length of flimsy, plastic-coated metal cable intended to secure quick-release wheels and not the bike itself....

What to do with the 80,000 umbrellas lost on London’s Underground each year? For those that cannot be reunited with their owners, a group of architects may have the answer: The Harvest Dome. The Harvest Dome was built earlier this year in New York using 450 discarded umbrellas support by a floating platform made from 128 recycled drinks...

Design students have devised a bicycle with a storage compartment incorporated into its front wheel. There is no requirement for a car to have headlamps to pass an MOT, or be driven legally during daylight hours, but that doesn't stop manufacturers including them on every model they sell. They simply assume most motorists want to drive at...

The Penny Farthing is over 140 years old, but the enduring fascination with the high wheeler bicycle has led to it being re-built using cutting-edge, contemporary materials. The development of the original Penny Farthing, or ‘ordinary’ bicycle, prompted innovations such as ball bearings, rubber tyres and hollow-section steel frames;...

If our taste for cars continues to favour smaller vehicles, where will it all end? If the trend is spurred by concern for the environment and we all eventually trade in our city cars for bus passes or bicycles, what will we become of our motors? Fiat thinks it has the answer. The Italian car maker has teamed up with kitchen appliance...

Criminals trying to evade police face a new piece of high-tech law enforcement technology that is almost impossible to escape from – patrol cars in America can now fire self-adhesive GPS ‘tags’ at a vehicle they want to stop. The StarChase barrels nestle discreetly in the front...

The traditional hunt season starts this weekend across the countryside, but the urban cyclist has an alternative quarry – the bike-thieving vermin that plague our city streets! With 1,000 bicycles stolen each day, the ETA is making a stand. In proudly launching F.O.R.K.S. Hunt, we herald a purge of the felons, outlaws, rascals, knaves and...

Most cyclists would settle for cycle lanes that are direct and well-maintained, but the latest thinking is that they should glow in the dark. Starpath is a new surface treatment for paths that absorbs energy from the sun during the day and then releases it at night, causing the particles embedded in the ground to glow like a carpet of...

It sounds like a Halloween prank gone horribly wrong, but Toyota has recalled almost 1 million of its cars because they are at serious risk from spiders. Over 850,000 cars built for the American market in 2012 and 2013 are being recalled because if a spider builds its web behind their dashboards, there is a risk of unexpected airbag...

The Infinity seat might not be the first redesign of the traditional bicycle saddle to promise improved comfort, but it is arguably the best looking. The elegant, skeletal-looking design is the brainchild of Dr Vincent Marcel, a chiropractor and triathlete. While researching for the project, Marcel trawled patents on bicycle seats dating...